Elaine Ong /
The voice of the electorate at the recent General Election resounded loud and clear to the ruling party and indeed, some observers claim that politically, the population has come of age. I beg to differ. The political maturity of the electorate is still in its infancy with a large majority of the population still left unclear and uncertain that the ruling party and the state are by right separate identities.
Years of identifying the People’s Action Party (PAP) with the state have left many Singaporeans with what I would call a serious national identity crisis. Mr.Lee Kuan Yew was quoted in 1982 as having said, “I make no apologies that the PAP is the Government and the Government is the PAP.”(Petir, 1982). Singaporeans have taken this to mean that the PAP is Singapore and Singapore is the PAP. While policies of the ruling party inevitably shape the identity of our nation, it is NOT the nation per se. To confuse the two is a very serious mistake.
Recently, since voting for the Worker’s Party as a resident of Aljunied GRC, I have been accused by several friends and family members as having been unpatriotic. Worse still, there are those who rant at me about how I have forgotten the great things Lee Kuan Yew has done for this country and taken it to where it is today. Trawl the Internet and you will see that these accusations surface time and again, and those who do not vote the ruling party are seen as being ungrateful renegades. A letter in The Straits Times Forum page was published not too long ago in which the writer said she was disappointed by the attitude of government scholars who have returned to join the ranks of the opposition. Once again, the term ‘ungrateful’ was used. The fact that we use the term ‘opposition’ itself carries a negative connotation and a naïve, immature black and white view that ‘if you are not for us, than you are against us’.
Then, there is the confusion even among those who work in the civil service. Some wrongly fear that it would cost them their jobs if they voted against the ruling party. There are even civil servants who mistakenly think that a vote against the ruling party is a signal of disloyalty to the state which employs them. The involvement of the ruling party in almost every state institution has perpetuated this myth and blurred the lines between party and state. This is unhealthy and should be set right. The truth is the public administration and its civil servants work for the state and not the political party that is in power.
One cannot blame the average Singaporean for confusing the state with the party. Years of fear mongering by the ruling elite has perpetuated the myth of the party being the state. I admit that for year I too was a politically apathetic citizen with the ‘PAP knows best’ attitude. I believed the line that partisan politics would cause the downfall of this country and cause it to be divided. How true this may be remains a conjecture.
It is incorrect to look at only the failings of a two party or multi-party system in other countries and project it onto what could possibly happen to us (and so far our smallness as a country has always made us somewhat different and unique in that sense), without examining the merits of such systems. I was very disappointed that when the concept of a ‘First World Parliament’ was peddled to the public, SM Goh Chok Tong immediately chose to narrow-mindedly link that idea with politics in Myanmar and other Southeast Asian countries. I was even more disappointed when Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong publicly announced during the forum broadcast on national television that indeed ‘PAP wards would be looked after first’ in what he terms as prioritizing (with public not party money).
Truth be told, in spite of voting the opposition, I am a patriot of this country. While others have voted with their feet (and chose to emigrate), I have not done so even though I have been given an opportunity to do so. As a citizen with stakes in this country, it is my hope that Singapore will move politically away from its narrow-mindedness, to embrace greater plurality and respect for views outside the boundaries of the ruling party.
It is time we stopped accepting the view passively that we Singaporeans are subservient sheep and reject the idea that one’s patriotism is measured by how one votes. Let us stop whining about the PAP the way a child whines about his dad and start taking ownership of our choices. Taking ownership of one’s choices results in a greater sense of belonging to the country and a stronger sense of national identity in the long run. One can only truly love one’s country out of love and a sense of belonging, not fear. If we think our views align with those of the ruling party, then vote the ruling party. If we think our views and vision aligns with what other parties propose, take ownership and vote accordingly. It would be pathetic if we voted a particular way just in order to show our gratitude or for fear of looking disloyal or unpatriotic.
I look forward to the day when my patriotism and love for this country is no longer measured by the way I voted by my fellow citizens of this country, the way a democrat or republican in the United States is not questioned about his loyalty to the state.
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Pls observe the cooling time, Resume at 8pm. The question is “Is Singapore own by PAP”, If not, what are the causes with the mentality of the Singaporean, and worrisome to that mentality. Pls have your scripts prepared.. For PAP supporter, you may also write the advantages of having that mentality… :>
Patriotism and loyalty to Singapore are not proprietary to the PAP or MIW. A person who may have a very different political view from PAP may be more patriotic and loyal to Singapore than the MIW. This is precisely why he bothers to speak up on issues. I look forward to the day the opposition party sis allowed to end a contingent to the National Day Parade.
@Simon Templar
Part 1.
I would regret if Singapore would follow US politics. But I do hope we have better Unions. I have worked with some very skilled Americans before. One thing for sure there are very well aware of their rights. I learned a lot from them, without them being scared that someone else will steal their knowledge. One thing for sure, those who are good, get paid very well, those who are borderline, I don’t know what will happen to them. But one thing for sure too, I don’t want Singapore to follow Australian way of life. 5 minutes before times up, don’t expect to get help from them.
Talking about Unions and Rights. I got a friend, who got a colleague from another department. I was told this guy worked shift since January this year, until May he have not received his shift allowance. And he is still arguing his way through…. The reason maybe there is a slip, that maybe his boss did not submit his name properly as a shift worker. He performed the shift, but money is not credited to him. Instead of the boss fighting for him, he got to fight for himself. Another story again, one guy resign, and another guy with a lower appointment with lower pay was placed into this role. Based on company policy, acting post will get acting allowance for a stipulated 6 months, before a proper rank pay adjustment will be made. This guy worked since September last year, no acting-post pay, and no promotion. But he has been doing the job of higher rank pay personnel.
I won’t blame Singapore government on this. It is the responsibility of fellow Singaporeans to look after each other, and look out for discrepancies. Even if we have strong Union, separate from PAP, if there are no people to fight for us, it is no use. But the recent GE2011 showed us otherwise, that there are people out there, willing to sacrifice their name, their stature, for Singaporean. I may not agree that all of them are true, but we do see some sincere faces.
@Simon Templar
Part 2.
You don’t need to resign if you make mistake. You pass the bucket to the next person. This what happened at my current job. I earn $1.7K and my colleagues who are Degree holders earn $3.2K. When they cannot solve a problem, my boss will turn to me for help or asked to take over. I am not taking over the limelight, cause I won’t be paid as much due to my Diploma level. But its a good learning experience for me to gain knowledge and skill. But the guy does not need to resign, he just do other things.
I used to work in a company, where almost every six months, the directors were being shuffled around like crazy. Even if you are not at their level, reading the emails of reappointments, reallocation, you will get stress out yourself. And what will happen if they can’t perform. Okay you can take ONE-YEAR UNPAID LEAVE, till you figure out what you can contribute and what you can achieve. So it’s fair now that Mah BT, Wong KS, Raymond Lim, are still MP in their respective constituencies, but simply relinquish their post? What we are saying, this should be done long ago, then you can tai-chi and say another guy is taking over the job, lets give him a chance. Probably as what PM Lee has said, they are waiting for the elections to pass.
@Shaz
While in primary school, I used to catch parliament session when it was shown on TV. At that age, somehow I like to listen to LKY talking, even though I may not understand completely. In those days, our Parliament seems to have some good discussions, engagement and feedback. But then somehow, all the policies were decided behind closed doors. Even the PAP MP can’t do much. But now it has gone to the extreme, even if they disagree, they need to try their best to peng story when questioned by the public, to show an all win-win situation. They will give a false assurance to Singaporean all is good, but in fact we needed to work much harder to survive globalization. But if they are paid millions, and they keep giving us bad news, how do they justify their pay? So might as peng story and tell fairy tales to the Singaporeans.
Our Singapore is a democratic republic, it is a State in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote for officers and representatives in Parliament responsible to them. Our patriotism is to our country, the State.
The Government of Singapore is defined by the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore to mean the Executive branch of government, which is made up of the President and the Cabinet. The President is elected to represent and safeguard the State – the body of citizens. The President is therefore morally responsible towards the State.
A democratic system must consist of a separation of powers between 3 branches of government:
1. The Legislative Branch (responsible for making the law);
2. The Executive Branch (responsible for ensuring that the law is carried out);
3. The Judicial Branch (responsible for interpreting the law).
Power of the government is to be divided among the three branches named above, each branch must be allowed autonomy to check the actions of the others and balances their powers in accordance with the Constitution.
The President acts in his personal discretion in the exercise of certain functions as a check on the Cabinet and the Parliament. He advises and oversees the appointment of the Cabinet, which composed of the Prime Minister and other Ministers.
The Cabinet directs and controls the Government which composed the various ministries.
The Cabinet is formed by the political party that gains a 2/3 majority in each general election held every five years. It should be clear that the ministries are the civil service, a machinery to carry out policies set by the elected political party of the day.
The civil service, as the very word implies, is the service for the people, and therefore should not have political affiliation with any particular political party.
By virtue of the need to have separation of powers between the 3 branches of the government, the legislative, executive and the judicial branch must be allowed certain autonomy in carrying out their duties in accordance with the Constitution.
The separation of powers between the 3 branches itself would allow checks and balances within the government. Appointments to the legislative and judicial branch have to be made from those rated highest, without any regard to political affiliation or influence.
A statutory board is an autonomous agency of the Government that is established by an Act of Parliament and overseen by a government ministry. Unlike ministries and government departments that are subdivisions of ministries, statutory boards are not staffed by civil servants and have greater independence and flexibility in their operations.
You called that …government? It sounds like running a prison.
Good views from many. If we go by all these views, we still cannot offer good effective government.
This is because, as Jack Welch, and others who have run big enterprises with sustainable successes will tell you, effective leaders are not just people who know what they want, they must be people fully involved and committed to execution from A to Z.
Execution is always overlooked in our system.
Democracy is only a form albeit the better form as compared with autocracy and others because it is one which offers people the participation in choosing their representatives to form the parliament, executive and judiciary.
Unfortunately, LKY takes over all the three branches for himself.
He should have taken an active in allowing all the three branches to grow in an independent yet interdependent coodinated government.
Opposition should now play its part in bringing the whole system to work together and yet being able to perform their independent specialization with check and balance.
Flirt 24 May 2011
@Aljunied residents
You must be really stupid to pick something just because it’s novel.
…………
is that so?
when harry porter(its a SHE by the way) wrote a fairy tale novel…people think she is a IDIOT…
today? all her books are bein snapped by Q in 7 days in advanced…
beside bein glorified into a hollywood epics..with numerous oscars win…
and ere you are…complainnin WE dragged you down? which part of the draggin did we the 40% do? by labellin YOU a DRAG queen perhaps?
Who knows huh
next candidacy deposit
25-50k
get ready or fix now
LKY vs Mamakthir
http://steadyaku-steadyaku-husseinhamid.blogspot.com/2010/10/lee-kuan-yew-mahathir-mohamed.html
Many who were too frightened to vote for an alternative voice actually wuietly were hoping that someone else will have the courage to do so. Aljunied GRC sat a new bench mark for them
1. PAP is not equal SG
2. Gratitude is not servitude
3. Vote for the party that is most relevant to us
4. Voting should be free and fearless and not under shadow of threats or unfair enticement
5. Those voted in should be servant leaders and not leaders living in ivory tower
6. Those who are not performing should be voted out of office
7. There should be accountability transparency for policies made
45min video,one nation under lee.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17qhGIwyGj0
Only be grateful to people when they treat you with respect.
Your friends would rather be grateful servants/slaves but soulless and live a life without dignity and self respect. Pathetic…
Dear Elaine
A well-written piece. Thank you so much for –
—- voting for Singapore
- Selfless (never only think about the value of your property)
- getting back my soul and dignity (an alternate voice)
-
The boundaries between ruling party, state and government have been deliberately blurred and distorted persistently from day one, resulting in the mindset of the people we have. During
the more abundant years, belly full of
food, money jingling in pocket , everything cut out for you…the mind is incapable of serious thought anyway.
The problem is chasing $$$$ is the preoccupation of most singapoeans.NB the no.of German cars sold in 2010 inspite of the prices.The income gap has
widen so much and rising cost has been the result of the govt”s one aim to globalise or be left out.Many sporeans have become rich and many have also been left out.
Its time that we slow down the pace and concentrate on helping those that have been left behind.
I was told this guy worked shift since January this year, until May he have not received his shift allowance. And he is still arguing his way through…. The reason maybe there is a slip, that maybe his boss did not submit his name properly as a shift worker
========
SHOWS YOUR COMPANY IS RUN BY FTrash,slave traders, hello, overtime bemeans a worker, makes him cheap, don’t get it ?
you have deprived that person of family time, do you understand what is family time, do you have a family ?
overtime to get job done means, SCREW myself and boss, time, it means, you and your company is “good for nothing” and the solution is “move to some 3rd world slave centre or hub”
do you know that working overtime just to get more money in pocket means, “YOU ARE A SLAVE”, and “MY OWN TIME” is my boss time, no wonder singaporeans cannot get married or have children, all time is boss time, what a screw up society the gov enslave you into, and yet they paid themselves millions for screwed up policies, SCREWING YOU ALL UP !!!!
it show locals are PLAIN DAFT to the BONE
they “LOVED” being SCREWED, ALL THE TIME
“I look forward to the day when my patriotism and love for this country is no longer measured by the way I voted by my fellow citizens of this country, the way a democrat or republican in the United States is not questioned about his loyalty to the state”
I do so think that the thinking here in Singapore can also found in the United States (Rep versus Dem) and anywhere else in this world. It will always be US versus Them and no country (or nation) is immune to this kind of thinking, it’s wishful thinking that Singapore can be otherwise.
An interesting interview when Ronald Reagan was sent to hospital after being shot, he quipped with the surgeons that he hopes they are all Republicans and the Chief Surgeon said today we are All Republicans.
This is what we need in Singapore. Win or Lose it does not matter as long it is good for Singapore and Singaporeans, we respect everyone views and decisions.
loyalty,what loyalty,i am loyal to my country,to my family,to my true friends but i will never be loyal to who u know.
I would like to comment that PAP has truly built up Singapore but as well done damage to Singapore. Look at our family values, we have no time for our kids when both husband and wife are working. No wonder our kids are becoming disrespectful and rebellious these days. And what about their studies.
Second Damage – our roots. The next generation of Singapore chinese kids cannot speak their dialect language anymore. They do not even know which dialect group to fill in their forms, where they actually come from and what their grandparents actually did for them. It is not PAP who gave birth to them and certainly not PAP who brought our forefathers to Singapore. Our forefathers spill their blood and sweat for our future. Not the government and certainly not any elected parties now or in the future.
My surname is Teo, I am Hokkien, my great grandparents from Fujian and my ancestors came from Henan where all surname Zhang (Teo, Cheung) started their great migration. That includes you, Jacky Cheung. Do you know your roots and history?
History has alot to teach us. We tend to sacrifice many values and believes to modernise. Some may say it is worthwhile but to what extend. There are alot more damages done by PAP. Probably if we count them, it might end up more than they had built.
@Mervin
People like you make me proud to be Singaporean. The PAP wants growth above all else, so much so that we forget who we really are. Money is extremely important for us to have a good life, but cannot buy our identity.
The question is therefore Can Singapore, a city state,survive for the next 50 years and in what form.Sometimes we take our independence for granted.indonesia will, malaysia will, thailand will, vietnam will, singapore ????
@troublesome:
Concerning Singapore’s future/survival:
- define survival…
Good to clarify and not stick to a cliched way of thinking.
Good article. The author has shown why the PAP has done a great disservice to this nation. They have not created strong democratic institutions and traditions which are essential for the state’s long-term survival. Instead they have put the party’s interests ahead of the state’s and by so doing they have made the state subservient to the party. The PAP must be disbanded and consigned to the history books. It is the patriotic duty of every citizen to work to remove this parasite from our nation.
Interestingly, the belief that PAP=Government=S’pore is also a double-edged sword. The people who woke up and see beyond this belief system tend to be more supportive of an alternative belief system.
And people are waking up one by one, from their 20+ years of political slumber.
And that is the problem….had the ruling party not kept its citizens in such a slumber, they would have had more support today. By infiltrating every organisation to make it serve their self interest, it has created an unjust and unfair playing field and they have come across as the bully….through their own doing. If they are a really great party, let’s depoliticize all the RC’s, PA etc. A great party/organisation whatever does not fear competition. In fact, it should welcome as much competition in order to show that they are the best and we should vote for them. YOu cannot claim you are the best party if at the end of the day, the playing field is so unfair, you have to threaten citizens with withholding upgrading etc, then indeed, you are not as great as you claim to be. Nobody can claim to be the best if they choose to fight unfairly. Agree?
While I do not know of the legal implications, I certainly see that the PAP did judge in their own cause when they moved the bill in Parliament in 1994 for a new salary scheme for themselves. Today that salary scheme has become the subject of citizens’ discontent. The Committee now appointed to review the salary scheme has individuals closely connected with Government and its work. Again the spectre of a Man judging in his own Cause manifests itself. Should we not as a Nation find a way to put a stop to this Committee?
I invite you to examine the legality of the original decision made in Parliament in 1994 which inaugurated the new Ministerial salary scheme. Is there not some International Tribunal we can turn to question its validity. The Parliament then as now in which the new salary bill was passed was essentially a one party Parliament and they effectly made a judgement on their own salaries.
“No Man a Judge in His Own Cause,” is a basic principle of Natural Justice. I invite citizen readers who have the capability to seek a way out for us.
The ruling party even dictates when we can show our loyalty or love for the country. How? By telling us we can only fly our flags outside our homes in August. Incredible isn’t it?
Bravo!!! Elaine has the foresight to point out the hidden danger of Singapore.
Most Singaporeans cannot distinguish and cannot understand what is white from black now. They don’t even dare trying any the existing alternative.
This is the result of 50 years of instilled fear, deliberated brain-wash and viciously stratifying the people, LKY has made his dynasty just like any other perished ancient Chinese emperors. When he is gone, (I don’t mean retire), he left behind a dangerously divided and hatred society for next 50 years.
Patriotism is a lofty emotion. What we witnessed was more like frustration and desperation of people who feel that they will ultimately lose all to the rich and powerful in their own country. Our father’s government have all in some ways fought for independence from the colonial masters…this generation have given away their independence to, and become dependent on a powerful group of locals, who appear to be colluding with foreigners to perpetuate their grip om power.
If they are truly talented they should be able to recognize that it is a big mistake in taking shortcut, promoting themselves, and using the legalistic tweaking and gerrymanding to a control government which holds back innovations and enabling and empowering of people in developing a knowledge-based economy.
They should realize that it is far more competitive and innovative in putting the “one talent of each citizen put to use is better than promoting only the self-interests of a few elites of academic talents” and make major breakthrough change in evolving a national cultural ethos for sustainable growth..
The current crop of leaders have run out of ideas. The only way forward is to keep repeating their self-praising and adulations over some past formulas which no longer work.
The leaders should be humble and come down to earth, admit their shortcomings in areas of empowering the common citizens. It is another big mistake in relying on unproven assumptions that foreigners promote growth.
There will be no problem for citizens to pay them millions if citizens are finally motivated to work as a team towards bringing about such a knowledge-based economy as stated.